Satan is an active evil creature, completely destructive and mischievous by nature. He is a fallen angel of perverse intelligence that is vastly superior to human. According to the words of the Holy Scriptures, Satan like a roaring lion roams around in search of someone to eat and is like a tied dog that barks and bites only those who approach carelessly. The strong is with the weak, and the coward is with the strong.
Orthodox Christians should not be afraid of Satan, but should only despise him and not pay attention to him, ie they should not fall for his tactics by which he wants to lead them to pronounce a curse on him and to return evil with evil and not with kindness and love.
When Satan torments us in various ways, it is a good sign because then he is outside us and not inside us and he has not yet fully mastered our soul . What should frighten us is Satan's peace and agreement with the sleeping soul that he then completely seduced, put to sleep and caught in his net. At that time, we are not even aware that it is a false peace, that is, that Satan has mastered the dream and convinced us that we are living completely correctly. So deceived and trapped, we have no idea that in our everyday life we are doing our human will and not God's will.
We have an example of such persuasion, deception and entrapment in the Gospel with the apostle Peter, who was misled by Satan and convinced of the correctness of his words when, after the Lord's words, in which the Lord indicated in his disciples that he would be killed and resurrected on the third day, he confidently said To the Lord: May God be merciful to you, Lord! God forbid! Such a thing must not happen to you (Mt 16:22)! When speaking these words, the apostle Peter was sure of the correctness of his intention and that he was doing God's will, not his own human will. He was convinced that his intention was good and completely justified. However, the Lord immediately grounds him and lets him know that he is in great error with the words: Satan, get out of my sight! You are a scandal to me, because your thoughts are not God's, but human (Mt 16:23)!
According to the above-mentioned arrogant example of the apostle Peter, many of the Orthodox Christians nowadays do not see in their arrogance and are not aware that they are doing their human and not God's will. Seduced by Satan, he lives in his false peace and in his arrogant belief that he is completely correct in his relationship to God and his neighbor. As such, it does not leave even the slightest possibility that you may not be justified in your Christian life, that is, in your intentions and actions.
The reason for such behavior is the fact that they completely religiously illiterate and not sufficiently educated in the Christian doctrine promoted by the Holy Orthodox Church. Since you have not mastered the necessary saving Christian Orthodox knowledge due to your arrogance, i.e. carelessness and laziness, it is quite clear that you do not know the way in which you can oppose Satan, that is, you do not know the means of salvation that are at their disposal and at hand. Only when they know the effective means, that is, if the Holy Spirit has given them the necessary knowledge and other gifts, can they properly oppose Satan and win the battle with such a superior and cunning enemy, and be convinced that in their relationship to God and their neighbor they perform a salutary duty God's, not your destructive human and pagan will.
So, if we have the necessary Christian Orthodox knowledge and if we are led by the Holy Spirit, we immediately and forcefully reject all the proposals of the great evil magician that are part of his secret philosophy of seduction. The evil sophist knows well the secret of seduction, but if we are well taught, we know better than him, that is, guided by the Holy Spirit, we know how we can resist him and defeat him. As such we well know that although Satan can perform tricks and evils of every kind, his power cannot always and everywhere advance as he would like. Satan is not all-powerful and without limits, but he is weakened, limited and bound by a chain that God holds in his hand.
Among the criteria that allow us to distinguish the evil actions by which Satan attacks the soul, it is necessary to mention his cunning, which he uses to make the soul that loves God fall into his evil and destructive net, that is, what makes the soul disobey its confessor and his spiritual guidance transforming skillfully into an angel of light. The action of Satan is different from the action of grace, while grace enlightens and comforts, Satan torments and disturbs the soul.
If we are well taught, we know the way in which we can weaken the evil enemy. Therefore, when we are attacked by Satan, we immediately seek refuge in God through prayer , believing in Him and expecting every good and help from Him. No matter what the cost, let's not willingly think about what Satan insists on. It should be clear to us that only and only then if we resist the intentions and tactics of Satan with God's help can we win the battle with him.
Furthermore, if we are well taught then we know that we are obliged to remove the fears, distorted thoughts and sympathies in ourselves that see in our soul only arrogance, lack of humility, fall, evil passions, because this is a trap and a tactic of Satan, set with the precise aim of making our good and virtuous soul lose courage, causing him to stop on the path of love. The Lord Jesus Christ is then always close to us and will not allow us to be a victim of the enemy, especially if we have devoted ourselves to Him in a special way, then Satan will never achieve victory.
So, if we have the necessary Christian Orthodox knowledge and if we are led by the Holy Spirit, we immediately and forcefully reject all the proposals of the great evil magician that are part of his secret philosophy of seduction. The evil sophist knows well the secret of seduction, but if we are well taught, we know better than him, that is, guided by the Holy Spirit, we know how we can resist him and defeat him. As such we well know that although Satan can perform tricks and evils of every kind, his power cannot always and everywhere advance as he would like. Satan is not all-powerful and without limits, but he is weakened, limited and bound by a chain that God holds in his hand.
Among the criteria that allow us to distinguish the evil actions by which Satan attacks the soul, it is necessary to mention his cunning, which he uses to make the soul that loves God fall into his evil and destructive net, that is, what makes the soul disobey its confessor and his spiritual guidance transforming skillfully into an angel of light. The action of Satan is different from the action of grace, while grace enlightens and comforts, Satan torments and disturbs the soul.
If we are well taught, we know the way in which we can weaken the evil enemy. Therefore, when we are attacked by Satan, we immediately seek refuge in God through prayer , believing in Him and expecting every good and help from Him. No matter what the cost, let's not willingly think about what Satan insists on. It should be clear to us that only and only then if we resist the intentions and tactics of Satan with God's help can we win the battle with him.
Furthermore, if we are well taught then we know that we are obliged to remove the fears, distorted thoughts and sympathies in ourselves that see in our soul only arrogance, lack of humility, fall, evil passions, because this is a trap and a tactic of Satan, set with the precise aim of making our good and virtuous soul lose courage, causing him to stop on the path of love. The Lord Jesus Christ is then always close to us and will not allow us to be a victim of the enemy, especially if we have devoted ourselves to Him in a special way, then Satan will never achieve victory.
achieve victory.
Therefore, Satan cannot harm us more than the Lord Jesus Christ has allowed. The Lord does not allow the sharp north wind to blow over the small and weak spiritual garden of our soul, that is, he will not allow that dry north wind that dries the fields, leaving them barren and sad, to act. Satan is helpless against the children of God, and his hellish attacks make the soul dearer and closer to God. He is in the service of God's deliberate and hidden plan, which, unknown to him, has as its goal the sanctification of the soul and the greater glory of God. Therefore, it is very important that we know all about the temptations of Satan, that is, that we know why God allows temptations and what is God's plan in allowing us to be tempted by Satan, which causes us to sin. This is where the Holy Scriptures help us a lot, which teaches: My son, if you want to serve the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation. Strengthen your heart and be strong, and do not be rash when temptation comes (Sir 2:1-2).
The fact that we are being attacked by Satan means that we are in God's service, and the more we become God's friends and members of His family, the more temptations will befall us . Then we must be brave and not be afraid. God is faithful and will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, but will join with our soul in the struggle so that we can endure and win the battle.
Not only are we obliged to be brave and determined, but we should rejoice that in us there is an unmistakable sign that we are accepted by God, and because we are accepted by God, we need to be tested. Therefore, the multitude and variety of Satan's attacks must not diminish our joy because St. James claims: Count it as complete joy, my brothers, when you fall into various trials, knowing that the trial of your faith creates steadfastness (James 1:2-3)!
The wisdom of God speaks, and we are obliged to know that blessed is the man who is put to the test and who suffers for justice, and not the one who remains calm and undisturbed: Blessed is the man who resists the temptation, because when he proves himself tried, he will receive a crown - the life that God promised to those who love him (James 1:12)!
Unfortunately, these holy Christian Orthodox truths are difficult for the miserable and weak carnal nature of man, which flees from the cross and fears every shadow of evil. And precisely because of this weight, there is a great reward and joy that will be given only to those who persevere in enduring the shadows, worries, difficulties and fears of trials.
We are also obliged to know that various trials are a fire that purifies our soul. Trials are blows of the hammer and chisel with which the Lord prepares the stones, that is, those chosen souls who will form part of the eternal city. And, this is not only the cleaning of stones, it is at the same time the cleaning of certain small pretensions that do not look like that to the human eye. It seems, at first glance, that these trials defile the soul rather than purify it , but it is not so, trials are like soap that when put on clothes seems to have soiled them, but when washed with water it really purifies them.
Therefore, being tempted is an obvious sign that the soul is well received by the Lord. Trials are not punishments, but proof of love, and we are obliged to rejoice because they are a sign of divine favor. They are a sign that God wants to test us and strengthen us enough so that we can weave a crown of glory for ourselves.
Furthermore, we are obliged to know the means by which we can defeat Satan by rendering him powerless. These means are found in traditional Orthodox asceticism, which, as far as this problem is concerned, has its roots in the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Holy Fathers of the Holy Orthodox Church.
Thus, that teaching says that in the first place is a humble prayer that should be continuous, i.e. constant, which reads: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!"
To overcome the attacks of the enemy, we must be constantly armed with that so-called Jesus by prayer. All man's efforts are not enough to successfully oppose the tricks and attacks of Satan without God's help, which is obtained through the humble prayer of Jesus. Without God's help, man cannot uncover numerous lies that are disguised as aspirations for good and evil. Therefore, we must know that we need God's help in the fight against Satan and that we will never lack this help if we pray to God with the humble, fervent and reliable Jesus prayer.
Therefore, in moments of greatest struggle and depression, we are obliged to take refuge in the Lord with the Jesus prayer so that we are not overcome by temptation. If we are tempted and attacked by various kinds of hardships, temptations and attacks by Satan then we should look to Heaven. In these trials, the Lord is so close to us that we have nothing to fear , and let Satan wage his war, because without God's permission he cannot do anything bad to us. Jesus' prayer is the most powerful weapon that we constantly hold in our hands. With the power of this weapon, we will win all the battles that the evil enemy is waging against us . Therefore, the humble prayer of Jesus should be the first or basic action before all our life activities, it should be the soul of our soul.
Further, in second place should be our humility!
Our Jesus prayer should be united, i.e. intertwined and enlivened by humility. In this way, we are not in danger of drowning in a stormy sea because if God resists the proud, then it is clear that He bestows grace on the humble man.
When we are pressed by trials the way we can get God's help is the humility of our spirit. God's power can do everything, but the humble, suffering prayer of Jesus defeats even God himself. The evil enemy only defeats the conceited, that is, those who believe only in their arrogant strength, by which they fall into the most terrible abyss. Humility is Satan's greatest enemy, and the reason is quite obvious. She is the great opposite, that is, a sharp and silent rebuke to his savage arrogance. Satan fears and trembles before humble souls.
In the end, or in the third place, there should be faith! It is
necessary to emphasize that these are all listed above virtues must be based on the unshakable holy Christian Orthodox faith, firmly founded on the paternal and merciful goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ, on the certainty of His constant presence within the human heart, not to mention His boundless love that allows these transitory trials only for the good of His creatures. Therefore , we are obliged to arm ourselves with trust in God, believing only in Him. It is necessary that we open our heart to the Lord with holy and infinite certainty, yielding to Him with filial surrender, surrendering ourselves completely to His divine heart, like a child in the arms of its mother, leaving everything to His care.
God is faithful to his promises and will never allow a trial beyond our strength, because the apostle Paul says and teaches: No trial greater than human strength has befallen you. God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength, but will give you a happy outcome together with the temptation, so that you can endure it (1 Cor 10:13).
Therefore, we must never for a moment believe that the Lord will allow you a trial beyond our strength on the tiring path that leads to the heavenly Father. We must blindly believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will lead us to victory with the ever-present help of grace. For this reason, we have the assurance that we will overcome the enemy because we are fighting with the help of the Lord and His divine strength. An unwavering faith in this promise is the most valuable help to persevere untiringly during the battle until we achieve the final victory.
In the life of the covenant with God, we need to see life's reality in its entirety through the eyes of faith. In the light of God, we are obliged to know the secret of evil, that is, we are obliged to know everything about Satan and his seduction and the influence of sin in the history of individual nations and humanity. We must not accept today's distorted theology of Satan, which is doing great harm to many souls today, creating discomfort and confusion in people's consciences. We must not accept the speeches of those who do not believe in Hell and even less in Satan. It should be absolutely clear to us that the existence of Hell is one of the truths of the holy Christian Orthodox faith and that Satan exists. A man who believes in the non-existence of Hell and evil spirits who cannot find their place in God's plan of creation has a belief that is contrary to the doctrine of the faith of the Holy Orthodox Church. Such a man stubbornly defends his views for reasons that suit him and is not aware that he is in a great delusion that is leading him to eternal ruin. He does not want to accept the existence of Hell and Satan because such a truth would require him to renounce the sin that overcomes, seduces and subjugates him.
So, the main teaching that we must know about overcoming Satan is: humble and constant prayer of Jesus, spiritual guidance, expression of the virtues of the holy Christian Orthodox faith, possession of humility, trust in the Holy Trinity, devotion to Saint Michael the Archangel, the Guardian Angel and other angels, all To the Saints, a filial and devoted relationship with Mother Virgin Mary, honoring her with daily prayers.
With all these means, we are obliged to add frequent access to the holy sacraments, especially confession, ie repentance, and above all the Holy Eucharist, which aims to introduce us to the mystery of the Risen Christ. By introducing the victorious Christ into the secret, we weaken Satan and his evil servants by means of the great power of the resurrection. Amen!
Therefore, Satan cannot harm us more than the Lord Jesus Christ has allowed. The Lord does not allow the sharp north wind to blow over the small and weak spiritual garden of our soul, that is, he will not allow that dry north wind that dries the fields, leaving them barren and sad, to act. Satan is helpless against the children of God, and his hellish attacks make the soul dearer and closer to God. He is in the service of God's deliberate and hidden plan, which, unknown to him, has as its goal the sanctification of the soul and the greater glory of God. Therefore, it is very important that we know all about the temptations of Satan, that is, that we know why God allows temptations and what is God's plan in allowing us to be tempted by Satan, which causes us to sin. This is where the Holy Scriptures help us a lot, which teaches: My son, if you want to serve the Lord, prepare your soul for temptation. Strengthen your heart and be strong, and do not be rash when temptation comes (Sir 2:1-2).
The fact that we are being attacked by Satan means that we are in God's service, and the more we become God's friends and members of His family, the more temptations will befall us . Then we must be brave and not be afraid. God is faithful and will not allow us to be tempted beyond what we can bear, but will join with our soul in the struggle so that we can endure and win the battle.
Not only are we obliged to be brave and determined, but we should rejoice that in us there is an unmistakable sign that we are accepted by God, and because we are accepted by God, we need to be tested. Therefore, the multitude and variety of Satan's attacks must not diminish our joy because St. James claims: Count it as complete joy, my brothers, when you fall into various trials, knowing that the trial of your faith creates steadfastness (James 1:2-3)!
The wisdom of God speaks, and we are obliged to know that blessed is the man who is put to the test and who suffers for justice, and not the one who remains calm and undisturbed: Blessed is the man who resists the temptation, because when he proves himself tried, he will receive a crown - the life that God promised to those who love him (James 1:12)!
Unfortunately, these holy Christian Orthodox truths are difficult for the miserable and weak carnal nature of man, which flees from the cross and fears every shadow of evil. And precisely because of this weight, there is a great reward and joy that will be given only to those who persevere in enduring the shadows, worries, difficulties and fears of trials.
We are also obliged to know that various trials are a fire that purifies our soul. Trials are blows of the hammer and chisel with which the Lord prepares the stones, that is, those chosen souls who will form part of the eternal city. And, this is not only the cleaning of stones, it is at the same time the cleaning of certain small pretensions that do not look like that to the human eye. It seems, at first glance, that these trials defile the soul rather than purify it , but it is not so, trials are like soap that when put on clothes seems to have soiled them, but when washed with water it really purifies them.
Therefore, being tempted is an obvious sign that the soul is well received by the Lord. Trials are not punishments, but proof of love, and we are obliged to rejoice because they are a sign of divine favor. They are a sign that God wants to test us and strengthen us enough so that we can weave a crown of glory for ourselves.
Furthermore, we are obliged to know the means by which we can defeat Satan by rendering him powerless. These means are found in traditional Orthodox asceticism, which, as far as this problem is concerned, has its roots in the Holy Scriptures and the teachings of the Holy Fathers of the Holy Orthodox Church.
Thus, that teaching says that in the first place is a humble prayer that should be continuous, i.e. constant, which reads: "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!"
To overcome the attacks of the enemy, we must be constantly armed with that so-called Jesus by prayer. All man's efforts are not enough to successfully oppose the tricks and attacks of Satan without God's help, which is obtained through the humble prayer of Jesus. Without God's help, man cannot uncover numerous lies that are disguised as aspirations for good and evil. Therefore, we must know that we need God's help in the fight against Satan and that we will never lack this help if we pray to God with the humble, fervent and reliable Jesus prayer.
Therefore, in moments of greatest struggle and depression, we are obliged to take refuge in the Lord with the Jesus prayer so that we are not overcome by temptation. If we are tempted and attacked by various kinds of hardships, temptations and attacks by Satan then we should look to Heaven. In these trials, the Lord is so close to us that we have nothing to fear , and let Satan wage his war, because without God's permission he cannot do anything bad to us. Jesus' prayer is the most powerful weapon that we constantly hold in our hands. With the power of this weapon, we will win all the battles that the evil enemy is waging against us . Therefore, the humble prayer of Jesus should be the first or basic action before all our life activities, it should be the soul of our soul.
Further, in second place should be our humility!
Our Jesus prayer should be united, i.e. intertwined and enlivened by humility. In this way, we are not in danger of drowning in a stormy sea because if God resists the proud, then it is clear that He bestows grace on the humble man.
When we are pressed by trials the way we can get God's help is the humility of our spirit. God's power can do everything, but the humble, suffering prayer of Jesus defeats even God himself. The evil enemy only defeats the conceited, that is, those who believe only in their arrogant strength, by which they fall into the most terrible abyss. Humility is Satan's greatest enemy, and the reason is quite obvious. She is the great opposite, that is, a sharp and silent rebuke to his savage arrogance. Satan fears and trembles before humble souls.
In the end, or in the third place, there should be faith! It is
necessary to emphasize that these are all listed above virtues must be based on the unshakable holy Christian Orthodox faith, firmly founded on the paternal and merciful goodness of the Lord Jesus Christ, on the certainty of His constant presence within the human heart, not to mention His boundless love that allows these transitory trials only for the good of His creatures. Therefore , we are obliged to arm ourselves with trust in God, believing only in Him. It is necessary that we open our heart to the Lord with holy and infinite certainty, yielding to Him with filial surrender, surrendering ourselves completely to His divine heart, like a child in the arms of its mother, leaving everything to His care.
God is faithful to his promises and will never allow a trial beyond our strength, because the apostle Paul says and teaches: No trial greater than human strength has befallen you. God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond your strength, but will give you a happy outcome together with the temptation, so that you can endure it (1 Cor 10:13).
Therefore, we must never for a moment believe that the Lord will allow you a trial beyond our strength on the tiring path that leads to the heavenly Father. We must blindly believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will lead us to victory with the ever-present help of grace. For this reason, we have the assurance that we will overcome the enemy because we are fighting with the help of the Lord and His divine strength. An unwavering faith in this promise is the most valuable help to persevere untiringly during the battle until we achieve the final victory.
In the life of the covenant with God, we need to see life's reality in its entirety through the eyes of faith. In the light of God, we are obliged to know the secret of evil, that is, we are obliged to know everything about Satan and his seduction and the influence of sin in the history of individual nations and humanity. We must not accept today's distorted theology of Satan, which is doing great harm to many souls today, creating discomfort and confusion in people's consciences. We must not accept the speeches of those who do not believe in Hell and even less in Satan. It should be absolutely clear to us that the existence of Hell is one of the truths of the holy Christian Orthodox faith and that Satan exists. A man who believes in the non-existence of Hell and evil spirits who cannot find their place in God's plan of creation has a belief that is contrary to the doctrine of the faith of the Holy Orthodox Church. Such a man stubbornly defends his views for reasons that suit him and is not aware that he is in a great delusion that is leading him to eternal ruin. He does not want to accept the existence of Hell and Satan because such a truth would require him to renounce the sin that overcomes, seduces and subjugates him.
So, the main teaching that we must know about overcoming Satan is: humble and constant prayer of Jesus, spiritual guidance, expression of the virtues of the holy Christian Orthodox faith, possession of humility, trust in the Holy Trinity, devotion to Saint Michael the Archangel, the Guardian Angel and other angels, all To the Saints, a filial and devoted relationship with Mother Virgin Mary, honoring her with daily prayers.
With all these means, we are obliged to add frequent access to the holy sacraments, especially confession, ie repentance, and above all the Holy Eucharist, which aims to introduce us to the mystery of the Risen Christ. By introducing the victorious Christ into the secret, we weaken Satan and his evil servants by means of the great power of the resurrection. Amen!
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